2022
Last month, my husband and I were on a road trip from our island, Sumba to a nearby local jewel: Labuan Bajo. It is a door to the magnificent Komodo Islands, home to the last dinosaur on earth, the Komodo Dragons. So it’s no surprise that when our ship was about to dock, there are many Live-On-Board or LOBs boats floating around Labuan Bajo Harbor.
As a couple, we used to book a room for two to stay the night. But this time, we wanted to try something different: bunk beds. Beside it would give us a new feeling of trying something we’ve never tried before, bunk beds costs much cheaper than a room for two in Labuan Bajo. There were some cheap double bed room, but the facilities were not as convenient as some bunk bed hostels in Labuan Bajo. A friend of mine who now live and work at Labuan Bajo, recommended some accommodation choices. We then decided to spend our first night at One Tree Hill Hostel. The hostel was located quite far away from the harbor, which is also the center of tourism. We managed to find the place by using Google Maps. We even doubt if we took the right way, as one of the road was covered in mud and slippery! But eventually, it was the fastest road to get to the hostel. There was another road, in much better condition, but it’ll take us forever to reach the hostel. My husband and I went there by motorbike, but they can pick us up at the harbor or airport (it’s free!).
The moment after we checked in, they gave a tote bag contained plate, spoon, fork, glass, and a towel for each of us. I love the idea of having our own eating utensils in a tote bag that can also be used to bring our clothes when we take a shower. We could also wash our dirty plates by ourselves in the sink inside the kitchen area. Our stay was memorable. In the middle of the night, there was a sudden downpour with strong wind. I’d say it was a storm. One of the window leaked, my bed was poured with rain water, because the wind kept pushing the rain inside. Luckily, the staffs helped me to move to another bed in the room. My husband slept so well on the bed beside mine so he only knew the event when I told him the next day. I slept well too.
It was early dawn when I woke up to my alarm. One Tree Hill Hostel is famous for its sunrise-sunset view from its cafe. I happened to sleep in a room with the BEST view, so I had set an alarm to wake me up to see the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rain continued to pour in the morning. I couldn’t see the sunrise, and I couldn’t go back to sleep because the rain and wind were so loud. I was anxious that they might tear apart the hostel, as it was built at the hill. But my worry disappeared as the buildings were so strong that there wasn’t even a single creaking sound at the windows or doors!
The reception suddenly went blank and we couldn’t get either internet access or just phone access to anywhere. So we spent our morning going back-and-forth to toilet and shower, exploring the cafe which was swept away by rain and wind, eating breakfast at the room (the rain entered the kitchen and dining room, they were wet all over!) and chatting with fellow traveler.
This time, we wanted to stay near the harbor, so we chose Green Hill Bed Station. The rate was cheap and the staffs were friendly, just like One Tree Hill Hostel. They didn’t have the best view, but this time each of us got a curtain and a personal lamp on our bed. It adds points for privacy and convenient as my husband also need to work at night—he got a lot of text messages after we found a functioning internet network provider. There was one common room where we could interact with fellow travelers.
Unlike our previous hostel, the toilet, shower room and pantry were at the same building. Everything was in a close proximity, which also a good thing if you don’t want to climb stairs and try so hard to avoid the rain outside. I slept like a dead person after a dinner in nearby restaurant. I woke up feeling fresh in the morning, the AC was cold but I got a thick blanket. In addition to that, I could make my own tea in the pantry—one thing I couldn’t do yesterday because the kitchen was swept by storm. We could hear the ship’s horns very clearly so we knew when the ship would be departing.
That morning, we were saying goodbye to Labuan Bajo and the good memories of it. Thanks to the two hostels, we could enjoy our night and sleep well even during the storm.
